


assembly line

by spookykingdomstarlight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Extra Treat, F/F, First Meetings, Pre-Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8549167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookykingdomstarlight/pseuds/spookykingdomstarlight
Summary: “Nitrocaf!” she called again, already prepared to move onto the next customer. Another tedious upstart barely her age, no doubt, maybe a little older, yet puffed up with so much self-importance that—“Welcome to Scavenger’s. What can I get started for you?” she asked, far more pleasant than any of these fools deserv…Oh.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sweven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweven/gifts).



Rey pulled another nitrodrafted caf, cool glass chilly against her fingertips and only growing colder as the foamy, brown-beige liquid reached the top. She’d reached the point long ago where she knew exactly how long to hold the glass under the tap, how to tilt the glass, and when to let go of the tap all together. “Nitrocaf,” she called, planting the glass on the counter and pushing it toward the customers’ side, the glass grinding a little unpleasantly across the surface.

She scarcely looked up to spot the government wonk who’d ordered it. They all were the same to her, every last bland-suited one of them. And they paid little enough attention to her—unless their precious drink was made _incorrectly_ , at which point she was the only thing in the galaxy that mattered. Good thing she’d long ago forgotten how to care when some First Order policy maker decided to yell at her.

“Nitrocaf!” she called again, already prepared to move onto the next customer. Another tedious upstart barely her age, no doubt, maybe a little older, yet puffed up with so much self-importance that—

“Welcome to Scavenger’s. What can I get started for you?” she asked, far more pleasant than any of these fools deserv…

Oh.

She pushed a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. The smile, usually so fake it might’ve been made out of poor-grade plasteel, came more easily to her mouth. “Hi,” she said.

The woman who stood across from her was no politico. Dressed in a bomber jacket with an unfamiliar patch on the arm, her hair worn in a loose braid thrown around her shoulder, she _beamed_ at Rey, so beautiful that Rey’s palms began to sweat and she forgot all about what she was supposed to be doing. “Hi,” the woman said. “Can I get a spiced caf with an oi-oi berry drizzle?”

“Oh,” Rey said, mind going blank for a moment. _Do we even have oi-oi berry?_ “Yes, of course. For here or to-go?” _Of course we have oi-oi berry… I hope_.

“To-go,” the woman replied, much to Rey’s disappointment.

“Can I get a name?” she asked, even though she never asked for names. Never had to. Never really cared to.

“Jess,” the woman—Jess, her name was Jess—answered.

“I’ll get that going for you, Jess,” Rey answered, her nerves a tangle in her stomach. She probably shouldn’t have been so familiar with her. Most people in the capital didn’t like it. But Jess didn’t seem like most people in the capital and when she pointed at Rey’s nametag, she proved it.

“Thanks so much, Rey,” she said, moving toward the other end of the counter.

She turned away, mind blanking all over again when she realized she hadn’t had to make a spiced caf in months. Drawing a breath, she muttered under her breath. _You can do this. You can do this_. 

From that, she was at least able to trust her hands to know what to do even if her mind was still a blur of _who is she_ and _will she come back_ and _I hope I see her again_ and _you’re being foolish_ and and and…

And much to her relief, they _did_ in fact have oi-oi berry drizzle. A lot of it. So much of it that she actually had to open a new bottle because the old one had expired, practically unused. No one around here had time for oi-oi berries or spiced caf or using names with one another, it seemed.

It made Rey all the more glad that Jess did.

Drizzling the oi-oi berry syrup onto the whipped cream topping, she returned to the counter—and to Jess. “Oi-oi berry spiced caf,” she said, handing the warm cup directly to Jess, their fingers brushing briefly below the fragrant steam of the drink. “Thank you,” Jess said, offering a wink. “See you around.”

Rey felt something hard poke at her palm and thought it was Jess’s nail, but when she let go of the drink, she realized it was a small square of flimsy, rectangular in shape and scrawled across with a comm number.

A small, bird-like insignia stood out in pale orange behind it. Rey didn’t know what it meant, but she liked the look of it and traced the circular curve of it.

Jess didn’t look back as she walked toward the exit, her hair swaying with her steps, but somehow Rey knew she wasn’t unaffected either. The flimsy curved in the palm of her hand as she briefly peered at it again before shoving it into the pocket of her apron.

Her eyes skimmed across the boring, buttoned-up customer now glaring at her. But even that couldn’t foul her mood. “Hi,” she said, more chipper than she’d felt in ages, “what can I get started for you?”


End file.
